Whiteman

Her comments echoed those of Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, who said prior to the rollout that funding for the breakfast club scheme "isn't sufficient".

Paul Whiteman, of the NAHT, agreed there was a crisis in children's dental health and the government was right to prioritise it.

Mr Whiteman urged the government to find other ways to support parents and focus on "rebuilding NHS dentistry".

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the plans would "do little to reduce the enormous pressure school leaders are under".

However, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union the National Association of Head Teachers, said fines are "a crude tool" which "do not address more complex underlying causes of absence."